An engaging professor of parapsychology talks us through the history of ghost stories – how they came to be and how they have evolved over time. Phillip Goodman’s (Steve Rodgers) dissertation comes complete with photographic and video “evidence”. Among the most compelling is a photo of four people taken in Scotland in 1972, which, upon closer inspection,…
Do you love the theatre? How about whodunnits? If you said yes to either, then Tom George’s star-studded See How They Run is likely to be your cup of tea. This frothy mystery has its problems, but still manages to tick a lot of boxes. The script by Mark Chappell is crammed full with theatrical…
The Humans is an adaptation of the 2016 Tony award winning drama written by Tony award winning playwright Stephen Karam. The film reworks many of the familiar tropes of the dysfunctional family gathering sub-genre – a favourite theme of many productions, such as Tracy Letts’ August Osage County. Karam makes his feature film directorial debut…
With the release of their third studio outing, Expert in a Dying Field, power-pop/indie rock quartet The Beths are three for three. In 2018, Future Me Hates Me found vocalist/songwriter Elizabeth Stokes delivering powerful melodies, big power-pop guitars, and delightful vocal harmonies from the boys in the band, a debut that inserted itself high on…
The second line of Peter Allen’s iconic anthem I Still Call Australia Home contains the words “From New York to Rio and old London Town”. It then goes on to say, “I still call Australia home”. Only Rio doesn’t feature in The Australia Ballet’s three parter Instruments of Dance. The triple bill has the works of resident…
Anthony Marra takes on Hollywood during the Second World War and much more in his latest novel Mercury Pictures Presents. The book delivers a broad cast of characters, each given a chance to shine, and visits some of the lesser known stories to come out of the War. The book opens in 1941, Mercury Studios…
Sandra Pankhurst was a remarkable woman whose life hardly followed a conventional path. She founded a successful trauma cleaning business and is a no-holds-barred public speaker. The documentary Clean starts by outlining the work undertaken by her conscientious employees. They must have a strong constitution, because this is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Blood,…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 23 September 2022. Jorja Chalmers follows up 2019’s critically acclaimed release, Human Again with her sophomore release, Midnight Train (via Italians Do It Better). The album has been described as an ethereal masterpiece with Jorja’s signature at the centre….
Thirteen years on, it may be difficult to recall just how spectacular and magical a movie Avatar is. I had the privilege of seeing it again in 3D and it stands up to the test of time magnificently. The technology remains wondrous. It won three Oscars, including one for visual effects. The theme of protecting…
Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone opens in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia. A disfigured witch, Maria (Anamaria Marinca), hovers over a crib. The baby’s mother pleads not to take her infant … at least until she turns 16. The God-fearing woman takes a blood oath to that effect. She…
